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As I may have discussed previous I’ve got a side project going on with an awesome friend who is just as excitable about geek stuff as I am. We may be different in what we like and views but that’s what makes us a great team.
When I’m not writing this third book (I concur with George RR Martin in asking Stephen King how he writes so fast) I’m spending time taping for my youtube channel here.

So far we’ve taken on the world of Captain America: Civil War and this week we’re showcasing before and after of the Movie Warcraft (Matt is a WoW player, I was in it for the high fantasy). July is going to be huge because we’re rolling out and discussing the great houses of Game of Thrones!!!! With new video games coming out (Final Fantasy anyone?), fall premiere on its way (DC Universe on CW, Walking Dead,Gotham) and movies piquing our interest we’re going to have a lot to say.
Add that I’ll be on vacation I might pop up here more, Facebook, or Instagram through my journey.

I was asked a question earlier by someone I find both wise, endearing, and completely talented in all that she does. Her question has been bouncing around in my mind and I realize that my answer to her was very swift and two dimensional so maybe I should expand a little on the subject. The question happened after I was very pleased with writing a prominent character’s death.

I took it as someone who writes herself wanted to know if we had similar feelings. She asked, “Do you mourn them? If you don’t, do you feel badly for not mourning them?”

I responded simply with, “I’ve been juggling with this death, going back and forth whether I should or not and ultimately for the final book sets things to 11. I do some more than others depending how attached I am. This one, yes. The great thing, though, is I don’t write in order so I will get to enjoy them for a while longer.” and “Some I am glad for their demise, though, and celebrate.”

If you happened to have read Rise of a Queen or Of Darkness and Light (heck, maybe even both) you realize something pretty quick. I kill characters off quite a bit. Not in a George R.R. Martin or even Steven Moffat way; the emotional trauma I might cause myself would be asylum worthy if I were to venture down that path. Nonetheless, I do tend to find a great death scene to write. Something I have said since the beginning and can shout from the rooftops…..EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON. No matter how lighthearted or gut-wrenchingly dark things get, there is a purpose for everything that I write and it may not even be clear until you reach the final book; I write for the long haul. For some characters I realize that they are meant to have their demise as part of something highly entertaining or a need for vengeance that even the reader is screaming for.

Since we live in the land of spoiler alerts, I guess I should say if you have not read the first book SPOILER AHEAD….

Greco’s death serves the biggest purpose of the entire series. I know people have told me they’re either team Greco or Team Isaac which I have to always answer, “Why not be Team Tessa?” Both are what makes her who she is. Greco’s death sets the stage for everything she becomes as the Queen of the Levé’s, the main reason I labeled the first book of the series Rise of a Queen.

END OF SPOILER

Through all this, I still have to say I haven’t really answered the true question beyond the basics. YES, YES, YES, I mourn my character’s deaths….the ones that I have cultivated and molded for years until their very last breath. The necessity sometimes breaks my heart and for some people, they want to deny that death understandably. I have been working on this series since the early 2000’s when I wrote a small bit, set it aside and didn’t pick it up again until a dear friend prodded me with such tenacity it had awaken something inside of me. With guidance and suggestions Tessa became who she was and The Vampire Realm became so real I could close my eyes and see everything inside of it. It has consumed me ever since and as I am working on this final book of the series I believe I will mourn The Vampire Realm itself, but at the same time feel pleased and accomplished for giving my baby the life and excitement it contained.

To all the villains that I happen to not mourn…….all I can say is I have raised many a wine glass in your demise and take solace in the fact that I can feel better by simply going back and turning to those pinnacle pages at any time I feel the need.

It’s allergy season and I’m miserable. Go ahead and laugh…………ok now stop.

I have tried most everything except for going back to my allergist (yes I have one because i suck) because I know she will start me on shots, and needles are one of the many things that will have me kung fu fighting anybody coming near me with one. So I get medicine. Lots and lots of medicine. So what happens when you’re body get’s used to it? You walk around the house like a zombie hoping you look as cool as the ones on The Walking Dead, but doubting it with the tissues coming out of the pockets.

I was up late last night, really late. That’s normal for me. But this time I was up WAITING for benadryl to kick in since it kicks my butt to sleep anyway. Nope. It didn’t. The little pink bastards weren’t going to give me the satisfaction. Instead, combined with other things, I was in a half state and not sure what to do. So guess who was writing in the dark, laptop on my bed? Meeeee……great answer 🙂 I got quite a few good things in, rereading today to make sure it really made sense and we’re good to go on that part. But, well, um, it was an interesting “trip” waiting to get to sleep.

Between talking with someone over a photocopied butt as a signature (yeah I went there, all the way to elementary school humor) and it ending up being part of a broad spectrum discussion on war strategies and how long would the mooners take with their march time in battle (Gotta love my old online gaming buddies.Those were fun times). The moment I realized I was really buggy was when the kitty got on my arm and all I saw was the silhouette of his face staring at me. I literally went “Eek”. Who does that? I always thought it was just a silly thing, but apparently people really eek. It’s a who knew kind of question. So I ran to turn the lights on and decided it was best make up with the kitten, who was taking none of it,

About 4 I finally got tired enough where I could go to sleep, up high on my pile of pillows like a queen in her funeral bed, and pray for no coughing and some breathing for, you know, living measures. And here I am now, listening to everyone outside mow their lawns to kick up all the pollen that’s been attacking me screaming “CURSES” cause people do that. Fists in the air everyone!!! I’m sequestered in my own home but for a different reason. Bleh. So if you get a nice lovely post that makes no sense whatsoever someone needs to scream and reply J.S. snap out of it chica cause you’re going bat crap crazy!!!!

It seems I have morphed into two separate people. My blog, oddly, has very little to do with my writing. At this point it seems almost like a little extra something here and there. I don’t blog constantly and oh I wish I could, but there is only so much I can talk about isn’t there? Yay I get my work out, yay one thing or another. Those come on occasion.

But what really happens when I blog? Usually its at an odd hour of the night because I have this odd thing about staying up way past my bedtime. When I do it is out of curiosity or frustration or just downright head-scratching.

So here’s the thing, I have come to love both in one way or another, but I am certain someone could do a better job than I. I started off trying to get things off the ground, like many early writers do I went to the *gasp* internet. I swear it was not around when I needed it way back when. It says do this, then that, and before doing another thing don’t forget to one and carry the two and….math and technology. Bloody hell. “Set up a blog” they say. Sure I did that. But it is supposed to be attached to my author page? Or should it BE my author page? No matter what it meant I’ve done it now and I can only cross my fingers it is somewhat easy to navigate. I like easy. Easy is great. No fuss, no muss.

Marketing, yes that’s what it was supposed to be for. I remember now. How good a job am I doing at marketing when I’m just rambling around like someone who’s had one too many a drink and ready to break out the Irish drinking songs. Now it doesn’t seem to matter. I think I’m getting a fit, even if it’s not my original intent I like reading blogs, I like rambling. The dog and cat only listen so much and we won’t even talk about anybody else for fear of the look of death.

I believe tech has beaten my. It’s made me addicted and flogged the living crud outta me. I go a while not able to check something and I’m twitching like I’ve got a bad habit. I get upset beyond upset when I can’t find my laptop case or the memory stick with my life’s work on it. How has this come to be? I can’t even master my smart phone (which I think they call it that because it’s smarter than me). I can be perfectly fine with my most recent editing of the next book I’m working on, red ink all over the page all so I can type it up later……on tech. Maybe I’m just stubborn, maybe I’m too reliant yet in denial?

No matter what…..you can find me on the floor looking like a turtle on its’s back. It’s kicked me and won. Facebook author page…..yay fans but heck if nobody interacts that goes down the tubes. Fail. How do I fix, who the heck knows, not me. I have no money, starving artist remember? Twitter, I STILL don’t know how to figure that one out. Strictly business or a little bit of fun stuff in there? I never understood twitter, but hey there are fans…..once again no interaction. I swear I have electronic cooties.

Amazon, smashwords, goodreads (and that place is a minefield of confusion let me tell you that, plus so many books to catch up on), and oh crap I forgot there was a Tumblr I started ONLY about the books that changed or influenced my life. Oops. And an about.me. Now that’s been updated, whew; fixed. Where in the word am I supposed to have that much time for it? For someone who is so self-conscious seems to really be busy messing around in things she doesn’t know all too well. Mama bird threw me outta the nest with no concrete instructions. I like instructions. I like formats. Organization, all that. I like people. Not one sided conversations of course.

Living in the deep south, well that doesn’t help at all. Not for what I do, or what I write. Pretty genre specific and the young adult world has taken it by storm. That’s the problem. Thank you friggin young adult. It’s everywhere and no matter how much people probably think it should be young adult, adult situations happen in what I write. It happens, I can’t change that. so I get a choice of hanging out with a bunch of twi-hards, That’s a no-go for me. I read the original Vampire Diaries, when I was a teen. That was much better before it became a t.v. show and made it big. And the YA seems to have claimed it as new and all their all. HA SUCKERS BEAT YOU TO IT!!!! There aren’t many independent bookstores let alone ones that cater to my special needs. Writer’s groups? Um, the only one local is Romance. Now I admit there is some in there, but its not written from a point of view that mean I have to have the tag Romance Writers of America sticker stuck to my name. Those workshop, table reads, are the most awkward. Oh but it would be wonderful to find just the right kind of coffee shop or back street bookstore or something for the occult (no that’s not a scary word, it really isn’t) where my book can sit on its shelves or I can talk with ones who are like me; stuck. Coffee, reading (even as a speaker, now that would be awesome), discussing, and just enjoying other people with my same interests in the written world. Radio time would be great, of course my physical copy would be good to pedal my wares and that is coming very soon. Once that proof is in my hands I’m golden on that aspect. But where in the world would I go? Who would I talk to? Good ol’ Confederates still live here so that doesn’t happen here. *sigh* Oh well right? Soooooooo……

Back to online media. Woohoo. Fail. Fail. Fail. Oh wait there’s a little bit of something, but mostly fail. I can’t work it properly. I so wish I could hire someone to do it for me. Or even beg and plead to get it done. I’m all good with the barter system, just somebody take over for me before I turn the whole thing into a train-wreck.

I’m not negative, don’t take me the wrong way. I’m a realist. So none of it is a shock. I just think that if people would just slow down and really pay attention things would get done a bit better. Too many 0’s and 1’s stuck in their brain’s they don’t know how to do anything else. I can’t accept that. I won’t accept that. Big old shot of adrenaline maybe I can jump right in there. It’s the double dutch jump rope of life quite possibly; watch the ropes, wait for the right time, jump right in and try to keep up. Isn’t that what we all have to do from time to time?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare

Why yes, I did quote Romeo & Juliet, a romantic tragedy. No worries, I’m not headed in that direction; I want to stay far away from anything with fifty shades or covers with bare chested men grasping a damsel in distress.

As I sit here finding every small reason NOT to work a little on the second in my series I begin to think, while I am doing said things. I haven’t even given it a title. Such a small thing I know. Considering I realized too much content was written to be just one book, there wasn’t much of a need for anything as big as a virtual textbook and seriously, how fun are those?

So what’s in a name? The Vampire Realm was it full original title. When I split it up, Rise of a Queen was a long thought out choice but very obvious considering the reader follow Tessa’s growth from her past, rebirth new responsibilities unsure of herself, and then ultimately a strong, powerful, and most definitely vengeful being. Along all that growth a glimpse of many an antagonist are brought about; also the ones that move through time, some make it to the next round.

If you haven’t read it, no worries, I won’t give away the big spoilers, what fun is that? That being said, names are not spoilers. The journey will still follow Tessa, but open up wider for Jason, Melinda, Emma, and especially Ariana. Each character with their own story that meld so finely with the others it is a continuous flow, and hopefully one that captures the heart or the reader. The second book is like a second chapter in their lives.

That is where the problem will be. What to name the second book? How would I give it a proper title without giving away learned events from the first one? The name should take on a life of its own I should think. Book two sounds so boring, when I gave the first one a title.

As I am giving myself a deadline of six months at the latest, I know I have plenty of time. It’s even a minor thought at the moment; a pea in a soup, a splinter in a boat, etc… At this moment I need to worry more about how I’m going to give certain characters a grand demise, because you know that’s what I do. Oddly, life and death are still prominent in the vampire AND human world. Nobody is invincible. Or are they? *wink, wink*

I have been writing for so many years you would think that keeping up a blog would be very easy. I use Facebook on a daily basis so I am used to status feeds and re-posting of cute, geeky, or just downright freaky pictures. But blogging isn’t about that now is it? Its supposed to be about me, what goes on in my life, and every update that I could think of importance, am I correct? If not, by all means someone point me in the right direction.

Let’s get to the main reason I am here. I am an author. It is the electronics age and it seems that you have to have 1,000,001 different ways to get your information out there even before you publish a single book. So guess what I’m trying to do? Yep, that’s right. Advance to the next level and get that first book out there in everyone’s hands. So yes, I am here to shamelessly give every detail I can about the book and the writing process as I avoid that gritting humble tone in the back of my mind that eerily sounds a lot like my grandmother telling me not to flaunt it.

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Matt and Jen want to give you a message. For all you Colonial’s out there (say’s Jen’s British half) Be careful and enjoy your holiday. Stay tuned for our REAL Episode that start’s a July Extravaganza, but you need to watch the video to see what is going to be so bloody awesome!!!!! https://youtu.be/FnzXKZhfrCc